MCMINNVILLE, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College softball snapped #4 Linfield University's 55-game Northwest Conference regular-season winning streak with a 4-2 victory in game two on Saturday afternoon. 
 
THE BASICS
#4 Linfield 10, Lewis & Clark 6
Lewis & Clark 4, #4 Linfield 2
(Lewis & Clark 23-7, NWC 15-5) 
(Linfield 27-3, NWC 11-1) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
A day after being swept in a doubleheader for the first time in nearly a year, Lewis & Clark bounced back in a huge way, as they took it to the Wildcats in game one and then earned a huge game two win. 
 
Senior Sam Gildersleeve's second solo home run of the day gave Lewis & Clark a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh of game two. Junior Maggie O'Leary closed the door on a six-hit, two-run, complete-game performance in the bottom of the seventh, to hand the Wildcats their third loss of the season. 
 
The game two victory helped Lewis & Clark snap a number of streaks. It was Linfield's first conference loss in the regular-season since March 29, 2023, when the Wildcats fell 6-1 to George Fox University. It marked the Wildcats first NWC loss (regular season and postseason) in 51 games and the first time the Pioneers have defeated the Wildcats in 21 meetings. Lewis & Clark last defeated the Wildcats on April 10, 2021, when the Pioneers downed the #1 ranked Wildcats 6-0 at Dell Smith Stadium. 
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on to their advantage until the Wildcats hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good. 
 
The Pioneers offense roughed up reigning NCAA DIII National Rookie of the Year Tyler McNeley for 10 hits and six earned runs. The six earned runs marked her highest total in an NWC game this season.  
 
Juniors Gina Ozuna and Madison Scroggins led the way out of the top two spots in the lineup. Ozuna went 3-3 with two runs scored, an RBI and a walk to set the tone for the Pioneers. Scroggins added two hits and two RBI in four trips to the plate. Senior Caeleigh Rosenbach was the third Lewis & Clark player to finish with multiple hits. The catcher went 2-3. 
 
Junior Emily Patton chipped in a hit, a run scored and an RBI. Graduate student Mari Alvarez and and Gildersleeve (run) each finished with a hit and an RBI in the contest.
 
Sophomore Ryan Jurischk made her second start of the season and kept the Wildcats off balance. She threw four innings and allowed 10 hits, one walk and five runs. The sophomore added two strikeouts. O'Leary came on in relief and took the loss after giving up three hits, one walk and five earned runs in 1.1 innings. 
 
Lewis & Clark put together their biggest inning of the weekend in the top of the second. With two outs, Cami Restagno walked and Rosenbach singled to put runners at the corners. Patton singled up the middle to score Restagno. Senior Katie Ingersoll came on to pinch run for Rosenbach in her first appearance since returning from an injury. Ozuna followed with a single up the middle of her own to make it 2-0. Scroggins scorched a single through the right side that plated both Patton and Ozuna to make it 4-0. 
 
Linfield answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second on a Cydney Hess homer and a two-run single from Meara Sain. 
 
Gildersleeve crushed a two-out homer to center in the top of the third to give Lewis & Clark a two-run advantage (5-3). 
 
Jurischk would strand a runner on in the third and got two outs in the fourth, before O'Leary came on to strand a pair of runners with a groundout. 
 
Linfield used the long ball in the fifth to take their first lead of the day. Claire Seats opened the inning with a solo homer and Ashley Sutton hit a one-out, grand slam to make it 8-5. 
 
The home team added a two-run homer from Seats to make it 10-5 after six. 
 
Lewis & Clark tried to mount a comeback in the seventh. Ozuna and Scroggins opened the inning with back-to-back singles. After a pair of fly outs, Alvarez singled down the left-field line to score Ozuna. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
The series finale saw Lewis & Clark dig themselves out of an early 2-0 deficit to earn a win over the number four team in the nation. 
 
After struggling in her last three outings, O'Leary spun a gem to earn her 13^th win of the year. She limited Linfield to their third-fewest hits of the season (six) and tied for their second-fewest runs (two) of the year. She struck out one and walked one. 
 
Linfield's Tyler Warden was charged with 10 hits and four earned runs to fall to 8-2. 
 
Scroggins, Gildersleeve and Patton paced the Pioneers in game two. Scroggins went 3-4 with a run scored. Gildersleeve tacked on two hits, two runs, an RBI and her team-leading sixth homer of the year. Patton chipped in two hits, an RBI and a double. 
 
Linfield grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a single, a steal and an RBI single from Brynn Nelson. 
 
The Wildcats tacked on a second run in the second. They put two runners on with no outs and Tiana Wayton delivered a sac fly. O'Leary stranded the second runner at second base with a strike out and a ground out. 
 
O'Leary would shut the hosts down from there. She retired the side in order in the third and fourth and allowed one single baserunner in each of the final three innings. 
 
The Pioneers got their offense going in the fourth inning. With one down, Scroggins singled through the right side. She moved to second on a Lacey Marglin groundout. Megan Yanagi came through with a pinch-hit RBI single down the left-field line to cut the deficit to 2-1. 
 
Lewis & Clark tied the game in the fifth. Gildersleeve opened the frame with a single, took second on a Restagno sac bunt and raced all the way home on a Rosenbach bunt. 
 
After leaving Scroggins on second base as the potential go-ahead run in the sixth, Lewis & Clark took their first lead of the game in the seventh. 
 
Gildersleeve started the seventh with a bang as she crushed a home run over the center field. The Pioneers weren't done yet as they added a key insurance run. With one out, Rosenbach singled to right field and took second base when the ball fell between fielders. Ingersoll came on to pinch run and raced home on a Patton RBI double. 
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Marglin made a huge running play to track down a ball in right-center field for the first out. The second batter lined a ball right at Ozuna at second for out number two. After Sutton singled with two down, O'Leary induced a fly ball to left for the final out. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• The Pioneers earned their first win over a nationally-ranked side since their series opener against Linfield in 2021. The win snapped a 22-game losing streak against nationally-ranked teams. 
• Scroggins finished the day 5-8 with a run scored and two RBI.
• With her win in game two, O'Leary moved into a tie for fourth all-time for wins in a single-season with 13. She is three wins shy of Trissa Chamberlin's record of 16 wins set in 1989. 
• Lewis & Clark sits in a tie for second in the NWC at 15-5 with George Fox University. The Pioneers will play the University of Puget Sound (4-16) next weekend, while the Bruins travel to play #4 Linfield next weekend. The two teams will meet the final weekend of the season for a home-and-home.  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will host Puget Sound for a four-game set on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for Noon.